Chapter 3: Run Sir Del'matal
Princess Fye made sure the cloak concealed her. She knew exactly where the man she was looking for was and she was ready to confront him but as the king's little sister, she wasn't allowed freedom as much as she would like. It was why she needed a cloak to hide her identity.
She followed the small path at the eastern part of the castle to the Knight's training ground. The trick to finding the man she loved was following an even smaller trail by her left.
She clutched the small basket she was holding and walked as fast as her little legs could carry her.
When she saw him, he had his back to her and she could hear that he was sharpening his sword.
Keenan appeared oblivious of his present company or so Fye thought till he spoke to her without turning.
"You should not be taking that lonely path alone, Princess Fye. It was a mistake to have showed you this place to begin with"
Fye ignored the last remark and set the basket down. She started checking to be sure everything was intact before she approached him.
"I have everything you need to survive a few days out there when you leave Maverick and I will join you as soon as I am able. I have food, water, clothes...."
"Fye" Keenan called out her name but she kept talking.
"...and blankets....I couldn't get more portion for pain and ache but you have to..."
"Fye!" He tried to get her attention again
"If you leave now, you can be out of the highlands by tomorrow..."
"Fye! I am not going!" Keenan yelled this time around "I am not leaving the king's side"
Fye moved closer and grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the exit except he didn't bulge.
"Come on! Stand up...run. You have to run Keenan. Just go and don't look back" She was close to tears as she pulled the knight.
"Fye! You are going to hurt yourself. I am not going. I am the king's shadow. It's a commitment that is for life. Now, go home!" Keenan took her hand away.
Fye looked like she had been punched. She staggered a little bit before she regained balance.
She started pulling him again with all her strength now. If she could pick him up and carry him out of the highlands and away from Maverick she would but he was thrice her size and twice her height. She was defeated.
Keenan was getting angry by her persistence. He just wanted a little peace. He turned and took his hand away again.
His lips pulled together before he spoke.
"Go home, Princess. That I shared a drunken kiss with you once doesn't give you a say in my life"
Fye felt the sting like he had hurt her physically. What was he saying to her? The kiss they shared was meaningless because he was in his drunken state?
Yes, he may have been drunk but what she felt for him wasn't fleeting. And he had told her things afterwards. Things she wanted to hear but not quite the same. Things she stayed awake at night thinking about. Words she replayed over and over in head all the time and it made her smile. It made her hopeful. How dare he diminish those words to nothing? He had no right to take those words away from her. Fye won't let him. She refused to let him.
"How dare you! You told me you could love me. You told me if you are capable of loving someone fully, it would be me. You said you were going to try. You said you can't get me out of your head"
Keenan had about had enough from the ladies around him. People who dared him and provoked a reaction from him when all he wanted to do was be left alone.
He could get very angry and walk away or he could remember that she was worried about him. She had feelings for him.
He watched the princess with a more relaxed look. Fye's blue eyes were beginning to pull tears.
"Did you lie to me, Sir Del'matal ?" She questioned him.
Keenan thought about it. He remembered what he felt when he had kissed her near the pantry when he was tipsy, he felt wanted and he felt feelings he thought he was incapable of feeling.
He was not like that with his mistresses. It was almost the same thing he felt for Eve, his dead fiance.
Did he lie? Could he love her if he made an effort?
Keenan would never know. But he might be dead tomorrow and there was no reason to hurt the poor girl and it was the truth anyway.
"I didn't lie, Fye. I didn't lie. I could love you if I made the effort but we would never find out now, would we? And let's not deceive ourselves, your brother might be my best friend but he would rather put a sword through my chest than let me anywhere near the sister he dotes upon"
Fye knew he was telling the truth.
"I know. Of course, I know but you have to run. Joan doesn't have any other choice but to order for your execution and I would rather have you alive out there than dead here. Take the basket and leave"
Fye didn't bother with the tears on her cheeks. She just let them flow.
Keenan alway felt the need to go the other direction whenever he was in the presence of a crying lady. It doesn't just make him uncomfortable, it made him nervous and he was the type of man that hated nervousness.
He took a step closer to her as he ignored the natural urge and voice that yelled at him to run towards the opposite direction. He made her look at him by lifting her chin with his finger. Then he kissed her.
It wasn't a passionate kiss. It was the type old lovers share. It was soft and wet and it was goodbye.
"Goodbye, your royal highness"
He picked up his sword and left the basket and started walking towards the castle. He wasn't going to take the easy way out. If the king sentences him to death then he shall die with honor.
"Sir Del'matal! It won't matter. I am going to find a way to save your life. I will find a way"
Keenan may have stopped to hear what she had to say but he didn't say anything to her. The king might have a soft spot for his sister but last he checked, the king's hands were tied and he can't spare his life without looking weak. And Keenan would rather die than leave Maverick and the highlands open for attack since a weak king sends the wrong Message.
Fye stood there for a while after he left. She stayed because she can't be seen in tears over a man she could never have.